An in silico analysis of laccase thermostability determinants for the improvement of rational enzyme engineering
Salarich Soldevila, Adrià
Parladé, Eloi tut. (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina "Vicent Villar Palasí")
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Facultat de Biociències

Date:	2026
Abstract:	Laccases (EC:1. 10. 3. 2) are enzymes of the multi-copper oxidase family capable of degrading a wide range of substrates using oxygen as the final electron acceptor and producing water as a by-product of the reaction. Owing to this characteristic, they are promising tools in the field of bioremediation. However, the application of laccases in large-scale procedures is hindered by the low thermostability of many of these enzymes, a property whose molecular determinants remain to be fully characterised. Therefore, the aim of this project was to analyse thermostable and non-thermostable laccases to elucidate their physicochemical differences and identify key residues contributing to thermostability. To achieve this, multiple-sequence alignments of thermostable and non-thermostable laccases were constructed and analysed through statistical tests and the Kullback-Leibler divergence. The analysis revealed a high degree of global similarity between the two groups of enzymes, suggesting that thermostability is mostly determined by local conservation patterns. Using the Kullback-Leibler divergence and Bacillus subtilis CotA structure as a reference, several discriminating positions were identified and structurally interpreted, revealing conservation patterns with a potential to be used in the targeted rational design of laccases to increase their thermostability.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, sempre i quan aquestes es distribueixin sota la mateixa llicència que regula l'obra original i es reconegui l'autoria.
Language:	Anglès
Studies:	Microbiologia [3602]
Study plan:	Grau en Microbiologia [816]
Document:	Treball final de grau
Subject:	Bacterial laccase ; Thermostability ; Bioremediation ; Rational engineering ; Multiple-sequence alignment (MSA)

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Research literature > Bachelor's degree final project > Biosciences Faculty. Bachelor's degree final projects